My Hyrum is so big. I'm sorry if I say that a lot, but that little factoid continues to mess with my Mommy head. Anyway. Were was I? Oh, yeah. Hyrum is huge.
Hyrum is so big. And he keeps outgrowing stuff. When the weather turned, he was painfully bereft of boots. Being me, I got online and began trawling for good-snowboots-cheap. It took a few days, but I found a fabulous deal! So I ordered a pair for Hyrum and a pair for Gabba, who was also in need.
And we waited. Gabba stalked the UPS man. When the box arrived, it was opened to much giddy excitement and frenetic anticipation. The audience of phoglets "ooohed" and "aaaahed" appreciatively as we lifted out the pinkish-purpley pair ( for Gabba) and then steely gray pair (for Hyrum...I let them pick their colors). But wait. The gray boots were all wrong. They were size 12...for children.
Back to the website I went. "Special pricing does not apply to men's shoes." *sob* Hyrum was a much better sport about it than I was. But I assured him that we would return the microscopic boots and get him a good pair of snow boots. It would be an early Christmas present. He accepted this graciously.
It was Mark that suggested I try to find him a pair of Sorel boots on eBay. Sorel is a brand of all-weather boots out of Canada, and it is fairly safe to assume that those Canadians know a thing or two about keeping feet warm and comfy in nasty winter weather. Mark, my quasi-Canadian husband, owns a pair of Sorels himself, and has nothing but praises to sing about them. Thus, I found myself on eBay, searching "sorel size 12".
Holy Cow. They must line those things in platinum, because they are so expensive! I found several auctions in our price range, but they always went up. And up. And up! But there were always more auctions starting. I watched. I waited. I bid. I was outbid...again. Rinse. Repeat.
It became evident this early Christmas present might not get here in time for the actual Christmas. But Hyrum really is a good sport. He assured me - and reassured me - that he didn't care when they came, as long as they came. And he was as into the hunt as I was. Each morning, he would ask, "Mom, have you checked your eBay yet?" And then he stood at my elbow as I browsed and searched and watched.
We learned a lot about the quality, care, manufacturing and durability of the Sorel brand. Hyrum started to get really excited. He saw the different features of each style of boots: liners, natural rubber that covered the top of the foot to be further water-proof, and so on. Mark really wanted us to find some of the "snow cat" or "black bear" style, which went all the way up to the knees, practically. And there was this one pair of huge, white "dominator" style boots that were comfort in -100 Fahrenheit. He thought they were the epitome of awesome. But they were $100 (a dollar for each degree, maybe?), so we sighed together and moved on.
More than once, we were outbid when an auction ended on a Sunday. But we were firm in our resolve to not bid on Sunday. We would check the auction(s) last thing before going to bed Saturday night, and then first thing Monday morning. It was a little discouraging when it ended in our price range, and we could have won if we had been watching. But we just trusted that God would bless us for not shopping for boots on the Sabbath.
And He did! This process went on for weeks, by the way. Christmas came and went, as did New Years. Finally, I wised up and broadened my search. I started searching the descriptions, and that's how I found this one auction. It was listed as "men's winter boots" and had no picture. But after weeks of Sorel brand immersion, I knew exactly what the seller was talking about as I read the description: white, rated for -100 F...sweet. So I watched it. Hyrum watched it. No one bid on it. So we did. Still, no one else bid. And as the auction got closer to ending, I got nervous. It was the middle of January, for crying out loud. The "early Christmas present" had morphed into something else completely. I upped my minimum bid to the outer reaches of my budget. And I waited.
The auction ended. No one else bid on the boots. They were ours! Signed, sealed, and waiting to be delivered. *sigh of relief* Mark was baffled as to why Hyrum wanted white boots. He was concerned that they'll just look dirty and, well, dirty all the time. Between you and me, I was concerned about the nerdiness factor. I mean, seriously. Huge. White. Boots.
But Hyrum=thrilled. And that's what mattered most. After all the waiting and the auctions lost and the good-natured disappointment, I'm just glad we got a pair and it's a pair that speaks to his twelve year-old heart.
But really. They're huge. We got them in size 13, because he is still growing, and after all that agony and effort, I don't want to have to do it again anytime soon. Well, he says that when he's wearing chunky warm socks (as if he needs them!), there is just about an inch of growth/wiggle room.
Mark came home from work right after the Boots of Glory arrived. He took one look at Hyrum (who was still in his pajamas...and the snow boots) and said he looked like a Power Ranger. Then he tried them on (they are cavernous on Mark), and he said he felt like Buzz Lightyear, and suggested that as an option for Halloween 2010.
I must agree, that Hyrum looked a bit larger than life in his red pajama pants and those boots. Gabba and I doctored this photo to create our very own Super Hyrum.
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